Why should we reflect on St Augustine’s Confessions, his spiritual autobiography?

Why are the Confessions central to the Western Tradition, not only to Christian thinking, but also to psychology, philosophy, and the sciences?
Why did young Augustine initially turn his back on his mother Monica’s Christian faith in his youth, joining the Manichean heresy?

How did his study of philosophy, and listening to the sermons of St Ambrose, convince the young Augustine of the truth of the Christian faith, causing him to reject the heretical doctrines of the Manichean heresy?

Why is St Augustine so fascinated by the nature of memory, dreams, and time?

How does the Genesis creation story differ from the pagan creation stories? How does Genesis express the nature of the Trinity?

This blog summarizes our six blogs and videos on the thirteen original books of St Augustine’s Confessions.

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We also reflect on:
• How St Augustine put aside his concubine, who bore him is son Adeodatus, and how his mother Monica arranged a marriage that he later broke off.
• The conversion of Victorinus, and the Life of St Anthony.
• St Augustine’s conversion and baptism.
• St Augustine’s reflections on the soul, the mind, memory, dreams, and emotions.
• St Augustine’s teachings on how fasting can control the passions.
• Finding true happiness in the two-fold love, Love of God, and love of neighbor.
• Christ as both mediator for man and Word of God.
• Biographies of St Augustine by Henry Chadwick and Peter Brown.
• St Augustine’s studies of NeoPlatonism and philosophy.

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As Socrates teaches us, the examined life is a life worth living. We would be fools if we did not desire to learn from our multitude of friends whose words live in the works of the classics that have survived from past centuries and millennia. The Stoic and moral philosophers of Greece and Rome saw philosophy as an evangelical enterprise, seeking to spread the joy of living a godly life for its own sake.

Our projects include:
Studying the teachings of the ancient and modern stoic and moral philosophers on how to better lead a godly life.
Studying ancient and modern history to learn moral lessons and learn how we can successfully live a life of faith in trying times, including civil rights and social gospel history.
Studying issues of morality in the Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant and Jewish traditions.

Everyone should join and participate in their local church. However, my internet persona is purposefully obscure so that I can be respectful of all genuine Judeo-Christian traditions, I do not wish to be disrespectfully polemical.
This is original content based on research by Bruce Strom and his blogs. Images in the Public Domain, many from Wikipedia, some from the National Archives, are selected to provide illustration. When images of the actual topic or event are not available in the Public Domain, images of similar objects and events are used for illustration.

All events are portrayed in historical context and for educational purposes. No images or content are primarily intended to shock and disgust. The ancient world was a warrior culture out of necessity, to learn from the distant past we should not only judge them from our modern perspective but also from their own ancient perspective on their own terms.

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